Furious over referees’ decisions during video replay during a Brazilian Serie A match, Corinthians coaches wanted to know their answers themselves, but without much politeness.
In the Arena do Gremio, the opponent’s stadium on Sunday, the first 10 minutes were particularly explosive. Corinthians were denied a penalty after Matheus Bidu fell into the goal area. The officer had his pipe in his pocket.
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This really didn’t do the visitors any favors, especially as their defender Bruno Mendez received a red card a few moments later for a dangerous tackle. This time the referee went to the video replay to confirm his decision.
It was enough for Corinthians’ football director, Alessandro Nunes, to try to break into the space reserved for the VAR (Video Assistance Refereeing) supervisors. A reporter, eventually garlanded by team staff, filmed the scene.
The group of men encountered two security officers who blocked their way. Nunes later explained himself, according to the daily newspaper O Globo, by refusing to apologize for his actions but admitting he had made a mistake.
“The years go by, the presidents of the referee commission change, but we always see the same mistakes,” assured Nunes. […] What is inappropriate and unfortunate is that the VAR officials stay in front of their screens, observe the incident several times but do not help the official. We just want justice.”
The whole upset could have easily been avoided as Corinthians beat Gremio 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 32nd minute.